Notes / Bangkok
The Cheapest International Schools in Bangkok
Bangkok's cheapest international schools start around THB 90,000 and stretch to THB 280,000. Here's who teaches whom, where they cluster, and what the lower fee actually buys.
Comparison table
| School | Curriculum | Ages | Fees range (THB) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Oaks International School (ROISB) | British | 2–16 | 81,000–89,000 | Watthana, small primary |
| Ekamai International School (EIS) | American, AP | 2–18 | 120,000–130,000 | Phra Khanong, WASC, founded 1946 |
| AIT International School (AITIS) | International | 2–12 | 122,500–146,500 | Pathum Thani, on AIT campus |
| Sarasas Ektra School | Thai, bilingual American | 3–18 | 67,000–151,200 | Bangkok, Catholic bilingual |
| Centurion International School (CISB) | Cambridge | 3–11 | 139,000–155,000 | Suan Luang, founded 2018 |
| Bangkok Adventist International (BAIS) | American | 3–14 | 158,000–162,000 | Sukhumvit, WASC |
| Bangkok Grace International (BGIS) | American | 3–12 | 121,900–173,460 | Bangkok, ACSI |
| Kevalee International School | International | 2–18 | 127,000–199,000 | Bangkok, WASC, founded 1996 |
| Knightsbridge House Nonthaburi (KBH) | Cambridge | 5–13 | 226,000–226,000 | Nonthaburi, opened 2025 |
| Ramkhamhaeng Advent (RAIS) | American, AP | 2–18 | 185,000–230,000 | Hua Mak, WASC |
| RC International School (RCIS) | International | 2–12 | 132,000–244,650 | Bangkok, founded 1998 |
| Beaconhouse Yamsaard International (BYIS) | International | 2–12 | 219,392–255,614 | Prawet, CIS and NEASC |
| Glory Singapore International (GSIS) | British, Singaporean, Cambridge | 2–18 | 198,000–273,000 | Sukhumvit/Bang Na |
| Sequoia Nova International Primary (Sequoia Nova) | International | 6–11 | 280,000–280,000 | Sathorn, opened 2025, bilingual EN/FR |
| International Pioneers School (IPS) | British, Cambridge | 3–18 | 184,000–295,000 | Krung Thon Buri, WASC |
The brief
- The cheapest international school in Bangkok by top-of-school fee is Rising Oaks International School (ROISB) in Watthana at THB 81,000–89,000, a small British-stream primary running on Thai OBEC accreditation only.
- The WASC-accredited bottom of the market sits around THB 130,000–162,000: Ekamai International School, Bangkok Adventist (BAIS) and Sarasas Ektra all hold recognised American accreditation at near-local fee levels.
- Most schools at the bottom of the market hold TH OBEC and TH ONESQA registration only: the Thai state-school regulators, not international accreditors like CIS, NEASC or BSO.
- The cheap tier is heavily Christian: Adventist, Catholic and evangelical foundations account for at least five of the 15, reflecting where the older low-fee international scene came from.
- The suburban belt dominates: Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Bang Na, Hua Mak, Phra Khanong and Prawet between them hold most of the cheap-tier campuses, with central Sukhumvit prices ruling out lower-fee options inside the BTS core.
# The Cheapest International Schools in Bangkok
Bangkok · Fees & Costs
Bangkok runs one of the widest international-school fee spreads in Asia. The premium tier sits above THB 1.2 million a year at sixth form. The cheap tier starts around THB 90,000 and stretches up to roughly THB 280,000, a span where the line between international and bilingual Thai gets thin, and where the school's accreditations matter more than its marketing.
The 15 schools below are the lowest-fee international options in the city by top-of-school price. Several are Cambridge primaries that opened after 2015. Some are decades-old Christian schools running American curricula on small campuses. A few are Thai-registered bilingual schools branded as international. The point of this piece is to say what each kind actually offers, where the trade-offs land, and which postcodes the lower fee tends to put you in.
How cheap is cheap in Bangkok
The floor of Bangkok's international market is roughly THB 80,000 a year. That's where ROISB sits, and a handful of small bilingual schools sit alongside it. Below that line you're inside the Thai bilingual market, not the international one. Once you cross into THB 120,000–160,000 you reach schools with WASC, ACSI or comparable international accreditation: still cheap by Bangkok standards, but not unaccredited.
THB 100,000–200,000 a year buys you, in practice: a small campus on the city's edge or in a residential pocket of inner Bangkok, an American or Cambridge curriculum rather than IB, class sizes that are often genuinely small because enrolment is modest, and a teaching staff that mixes a handful of expatriate hires with a Thai majority. It will not buy you the purpose-built sports infrastructure, the broad IB or A Level subject menu, or the university counselling resource that the THB 700,000-plus tier delivers.
The upper end of the cheap tier, around THB 220,000–280,000, brings in schools like Beaconhouse Yamsaard (CIS and NEASC accredited), Glory Singapore International and the new Sequoia Nova in Sathorn. These are still well below the city average but step closer to the mid-tier infrastructure parents recognise.
What the cheap tier shares
Five patterns repeat across the bottom of the market.
Newer Cambridge primaries. Centurion International School (CISB, founded 2018), Knightsbridge House Nonthaburi (KBH, opened 2025) and Sequoia Nova (opened 2025) all run Cambridge primary frameworks without yet offering secondary or A Level. Lower fees reflect the absence of senior school overhead and the absence of historic exam-results data.
Christian-foundation American schools. Ekamai International (EIS, founded 1946), Bangkok Adventist (BAIS), Bangkok Grace International (BGIS) and Ramkhamhaeng Advent (RAIS, founded 1999) all blend American curriculum with a religious foundation. The older Adventist and evangelical networks in Thailand subsidised cheaper fees long before the modern international market existed, and that legacy is what holds the lower end together.
Smaller cohorts. Most of these schools enrol under 600 students. ROISB, Kevalee, RC International and CISB are notably small. Smaller cohort means lower fixed costs, but also fewer specialist staff, fewer extracurricular options and a thinner peer group at any given year.
Thai-only accreditation. Eight of the 15 hold TH OBEC and TH ONESQA alone, with no international accreditor. That's legal and common, but it means quality assurance runs through Thai state regulators rather than CIS, BSO or WASC.
Founded post-2010. Six of the 15 opened in the last 15 years, several in the last five. The cheap tier is also where new entrants test the market before raising fees.
Where the cheap schools cluster
The cheap tier maps onto the outer ring of Greater Bangkok and a few specific inner pockets.
Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani, north and north-west, hold AIT International (on the Asian Institute of Technology campus, 42 km out) and Knightsbridge House Nonthaburi. These are the furthest-out options, where land costs drop and fees with them.
Prawet, Suan Luang and Hua Mak, east-central, hold Beaconhouse Yamsaard, Centurion International and Ramkhamhaeng Advent. This belt sits behind Suvarnabhumi airport and runs along the city's eastern expressway, served by the Airport Rail Link rather than the BTS core.
Phra Khanong holds Ekamai International and Bangkok Adventist. It's the closest the cheap tier gets to central Sukhumvit, sitting just east of the Ekkamai-Phra Khanong BTS stations and inside the historic Adventist and missionary-school footprint.
Bang Na holds Glory Singapore International, on the south-eastern expressway out toward Samut Prakan. Bang Na is also where the mid-tier and premium schools cluster, so the contrast inside one postcode can be sharp.
Sathorn and Watthana hold the two anomalies: Sequoia Nova in central Sathorn, and ROISB in Watthana. Both are small schools trading central addresses for modest scale.
Where the trade-offs land
The lower fee funds something less, and it helps to be specific about what.
Against Bangkok's mid-tier (around THB 400,000–600,000), the cheap tier typically gives up: a proper sixth form with breadth of A Level or IB subjects, dedicated learning support and EAL staff, specialist coaches for music, art and sport, and graduate destinations data thick enough to read. Bangkok Adventist publishes university outcomes (98% progression, strong US placement) and RAIS publishes SAT and IELTS averages. Most of the rest publish nothing.
Against the premium tier (THB 800,000-plus), the cheap tier gives up the rest of the brand machinery: international accreditation, large multi-sport campuses, IB Diploma authorisation, dense alumni networks at Russell Group and Ivy League universities, and the assurance that comes with thirty years of inspection history.
What the cheap tier gains is real: lower fees obviously, but also smaller class sizes as a structural feature rather than a marketing claim, often a faith-based or community-led culture that suits families looking for one, and shorter commutes for families who already live in Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani or Bang Na rather than chasing Sukhumvit.
The schools where the trade-off most clearly favours the family are the WASC-accredited Adventist and Christian schools (BAIS, EIS, RAIS) and the CIS/NEASC-accredited Beaconhouse Yamsaard. These hold recognised international accreditation at fee levels that the wider market would price at twice the amount.
FAQs
What's the cheapest international school in Bangkok? By top-of-school fee, Rising Oaks International School (ROISB) in Watthana at THB 81,000–89,000. It runs a British framework on Thai OBEC accreditation only and is a small primary-and-lower-secondary school.
Are any of these schools internationally accredited? Yes. Bangkok Adventist (BAIS), Ekamai International (EIS), Ramkhamhaeng Advent (RAIS) and International Pioneers School (IPS) hold WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges). Beaconhouse Yamsaard holds CIS and NEASC. Bangkok Grace holds ACSI. The remainder hold Thai OBEC and ONESQA only.
Which cheap schools offer A Levels or the IB Diploma? At this fee level, A Level provision appears at Sarasas Ektra, Glory Singapore International, International Pioneers School and Knightsbridge House Nonthaburi (Cambridge Advanced listed). AP is offered at Ekamai International and Ramkhamhaeng Advent. No school on this list currently holds IB Diploma authorisation, that begins above THB 300,000.
Can a non-Thai family enrol? Yes. None of these schools are restricted to Thai nationals. Several, particularly BAIS, EIS and RAIS, enrol students from 18–25 nationalities and run English-medium instruction throughout.
Why are some so much cheaper than others at the same fee tier? Three factors: accreditation status (Thai-only vs WASC/CIS), age range covered (primary-only schools run cheaper than through-schools), and age of school (newer entrants price below market to fill seats).
Are the very cheapest schools really international, or are they bilingual Thai schools? At the THB 80,000–130,000 band the distinction is real. Sarasas Ektra is registered as a Thai school running a bilingual American track. Rising Oaks runs a British framework but holds Thai accreditation only. Treat these as international-curriculum bilingual schools rather than full international schools, and check the language of instruction by year group before enrolling.